LITURGY MATTERS: What Better Reason to Shrine!

By Michael McKenna, Archdiocesan Master of Ceremonies

A shrine is a visible invitation to drink from the invisible spring of living water (cf. Jn 4:14) and witnesses to the triumph over death which is ours through the victory of Christ.

As an integral part of the life of the Church, shrines are distinguished in law as a sacred place to which the faithful make pilgrimage for a special reason of piety. These pilgrimages mirror the journey on which we are embarked as the pilgrim people of God (Lumen Gentium VII, 48-51).

Our new Diocesan Shrine of Our Lady of Victories originates in the former Lutana-Goodwood parish church opened in 1964 as a memorial to the Second World War dead remembered by the many nationalities represented in the parish at that time. Its Marian character and witness is immediately evident in the unique attribute of a significant statute of Our Lady and the child Jesus (Our Lady of Victories) surmounting the tower and highly visible from the surrounding district.

In Catholic tradition, Our Lady of Victories is one of several titles for the Blessed Virgin Mary. Originating in the thirteenth century it is associated especially with defeating all heresies and being triumphant in military battle in defense of the Church. Notably, Saint Therese of Lisieux, when she was a young girl, was miraculously healed of a serious illness due to the intercession of Our Lady of Victories.

The principal pious devotion to Our Lady of Victories is the praying of the Holy Rosary. In her many apparitions acknowledged by the Church, the Blessed Virgin Mary has consistently exhorted the virtue of praying her Rosary.

One of the most famous shrines of Our Lady of Victories is in Paris, France. It is renowned not simply for the many graces bestowed by the Blessed Virgin on the pilgrims who visit there, but by its staggering display of more than 37,000 devotional plaques which cover most of the walls – ex-voto offerings (an offering given in order to fulfil a vow) left by pilgrims, including Saints, thanking the Virgin Mary for blessings they have received.

Our new shrine is an invitation to approach with confidence the Blessed Virgin who is our refuge and strength, our helper on our path to the conversion of heart, and whose powerful intercessions plead our cause with a mother’s heart and concern.

By it may we grow closer to Jesus through her, because she will lead us to her Son if we but ask her to do so.